10 Rhythms
by Ebony10
Summary: 10 little oneshots- I just love one shots- that were inspired by a challenge from MyOwnWorstCritic. Rating for a swear word. Otherwise, I think it's pretty okay.


Okay, _MyOwnWorstCritic_ spawned an entire movement on here. After reading hers, I decided I should try it. Then I read a couple of other so inspired people and forced myself to sit down and do it. I really didn't think I'd be able to stop myself at the end of the song, but it worked! I was surprised. Hope they're not absolutely awful. Enjoy and I hope others jump on the bandwagon!!

Clearly, I own none of the songs or The Mentalist.

1._ Witness_- Sarah McLachlan

She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to watch. She didn't want to have to see how she was losing him.

She closed her eyes, but they opened once more seemingly of their own accord. And suddenly she knew. There was no way she'd get out of here alive. She would not let them take this broken man.

Jane took a step closer to the sociopath in front of him, the man who had killed his family. He knew that Lisbon was in the doorway, knew that she was watching...but he couldn't seem to stop his forward approach.

So Lisbon watched him. She wondered what would happen after. Red John would be dead. No more victims. Jane would go to prison. And she...well, she would be gone. One more memory. One more casualty to the cause.

She wondered what heaven was like. She wondered if she'd get a chance to find out.

Because when they came to haul Jane away to prison, she would give everything inside of her to keep him safe. She would never succeed. But she didn't think she could stop herself from trying.

She wondered if this was how Jane felt about killing Red John.

2._ Losing My Religion_- REM

The sun was shining on Jane as he stood in the middle of a field, feeling the breeze go through his hair. He breathed deeply, smelling the faintly citrusy fragrance of the orange grove that grew nearby. Near the field by their home.

"Daddy!" Jane turned to see his golden haired child flying across the long grass, heading straight into his arms. He caught her and spun her as she laughed, her childish glee spread among the wind for anyone to hear.

Suddenly the whole world was spinning around with them. Red started to seep into the corner of his vision, filling the sky. The field. Everything.

He jolted awake, seeing Lisbon in front of him. He felt sweat trickle down his forehead.

Just a dream.

"You okay?"

He focused on his boss' words. "Yeah. Of course."

She watched him for another moment, considering. He wondered if he had said something in his sleep. Her gaze seemed to be speaking to him. After a moment, she nodded and turned away.

Jane turned toward the open window, feeling the breeze and almost hearing his daughter's laugh.

3._ Not Pretty Enough_- Kasey Chambers

Lisbon took a deep breath as the elevator's doors closed her into the small space. Alone. She sighed. Figures.

She wondered if she would ever be able to share herself completely with someone. If she would ever have a bond with someone the way Jane had. He and his wife must have had something special for him to not be moving forward ever. What kind of tie did a person have to be stuck in one spot for so long?

Lisbon allowed her insecurities to seep through her once more. She had never been very confident in her looks. And her past had never allowed her to let people in. She was closed off. Some guys had called her frigid. And maybe she was.

But sometimes it felt as if Patrick Jane was able to see right through her. Through her defenses, through the person she thought she was—straight to the person she was.

He saw her.

4._ Pixie_- Ani DiFranco

Jane had this way around him. Light. Airy. Cheerful. Charming. Seemingly accommodating.

But Lisbon knew better. She knew that no matter what his surface portrayed, he was someone else underneath. She wondered if it was his immense talent to hide himself that allowed him to see into others, that made it so he could see past their masks.

Sometimes his true self peeked through. He was coldly unsympathetic with people who ignored others, who hurt others, took them for granted, killed them. Selfish, thoughtless, vindictive, malicious. His contempt for them was never hidden. It was always hovering under the surface.

And she could relate. There really was no excuse for hurting others—at least, not the kind of hurt they encountered in their job. Murder, mutilation. All sorts of awful things that no one deserved. And _no one_ had the right to inflict those things.

And Jane never hid that fact from people.

_5. Hymne A L'Amour_- Josh Groban

Alone in her office at night, Lisbon put music on. It practically floated out of her speakers, drifting across the air. Calming her. Reminding her that there were beautiful things in the world.

Sometimes, she really needed to be reminded. Especially after cases like these—where innocent people's lives were ruined due to the cruelty and malice of one unhinged person.

So it was her little secret. When everyone had left for the night, she would play beautiful, classic music in her office and just let it flow over her. Not her normal music. No. Always something soothing and traditional. Classical music. Opera. Lovely.

No one had to know. It was a moment that was just about her. About her and the world. Recalling just why she did what she did. To save things like this, to save things like the feelings that this music inspired in her.

Jane stood at her doorway, watching her calm, serene face. He thought that the music suited her.

6_. Linger_- The Cranberries

Lisbon closed her eyes, breathing heavily. Damn. She hadn't expected to ever see him again. She hadn't _wanted_ to ever see him again.

"Lisbon?"

She opened her eyes, setting her gaze on Jane. He approached her slowly, concerned expression clearly visible. She sighed. Great. Just what she needed. Psychoanalysis. She was not ready to play games. Not now.

"I'm guessing that you and he have a history."

She snorted derisively. Yeah, that was one term for it. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Doesn't sound like such a good one."

She closed her eyes again. "No. Not a good one."

She didn't continue. Didn't tell him about the lies, about the betrayal, about how she had stayed with him much longer than she should have, how he could play her like a fiddle. She didn't voice any of those.

But he seemed to know, to understand what that man had been to her. He leaned against the wall beside her, hand brushing against her. And suddenly she felt the urge to twine their fingers together.

And it scared her. She didn't want one more man who could read her, could easily manipulate her. She thought maybe that was why she had trust issues with him.

Jane definitely had her wrapped around his finger. She just didn't want him to know it.

_7. Somebody Like You_- Keith Urban

He had never pegged her for someone who would enjoy line-dancing. Sure, it had taken a lot of cajoling. Okay, a _monumental_ amount of cajoling. But Rigsby and Van Pelt were doing it so she had finally given in and was now laughingly attempting the surprisingly complex steps.

Jane had decided to sit this one out, holding a beer in his hands more for looks than for drinking. Cho, beside him, watched the scene in front of him coolly. Jane cast him a glance. "Gonna try?"

"Do I look like a ballerina?" Cho countered, his tone monotonous, and Jane found himself wanting to laugh.

He looked back to the dance floor, where Lisbon was now receiving advice from an overly helpful man in cowboy boots. His eyes narrowed. Did Lisbon realize that his hands were dangerously creeping down from her narrow waist to her sensuous hips?

He caught himself. Did he just think the word sensuous in the same sentence as Lisbon?

What the hell?

He couldn't wait to get back to Sacramento. While this line-dancing thing had been amusing at first—really, _Lisbon. _Line-dancing. Just imagine—he thought that maybe it was a little dangerous. It certainly wasn't good for his equilibrium to see her hips move that way. He took a swig of his beer before remembering that it was just for looks.

He never even noticed Cho's assessing look.

8._ Don't_- Jewel

Lisbon hated that Jane could affect her this way. She hated when he stood to close to her, the scent of his cologne in her nostrils. She hated when he grinned at her, his charming smile sending alarming shocks through her veins.

She hated the way the sun reflected off his golden curls. The way his hair was so tousled when he napped on the couch. She hated that his blue eyes looked so electric when he had a plan.

She hated that she couldn't control her feelings. Sure, no one could realize how she felt. But she knew. She knew that she cared too much about Jane. Way too much.

She hated that he could place a hand on her shoulder and she would suddenly feel comforted, feel better.

She hated that she couldn't hide from him.

And she hated that she couldn't make herself hate him.

9._ Tragic Kingdom_- No Doubt

Ever since the addition of a certain blond consultant to her team, she had felt as if she were on a never-ending roller coaster. And no one had warned her to sit down and make sure her seat belt was buckled.

Patrick Jane was a whirlwind. One minute laughing and joking. The next serious and somber. Intense and driven. Whimsical and elegant.

People just fell to his feet like pawns waiting for orders from their master.

It seemed that the only ones immune to him was the Serious Crimes Unit team and, even then, they weren't fully immune. It was as if sometimes he started to affect them more and they would feel the need for an update vaccination.

Lisbon felt as if she was losing control. Not of her team. Not of her career. No. She was spiraling and couldn't stop herself.

Others may see a Jane that they built in their minds, but she saw Jane as he was.

And she wondered if she could stop herself from being drawn into the carnival of his life. Fun, fast-paced. Creepy sometimes. Frivolous others.

Somewhat of a Tragic Kingdom. Where he was a carnie and not a ringleader. She wondered who she'd have to follow if she entered, since he certainly wasn't in control.

She didn't know if she wanted to find out.

10._ So They Say_- Dr. Horrible Soundtrack

Jane knew that people wondered about him. The man who couldn't let the past go. Really, how does one let their child go?

He knew they thought he was a little off. But they loved the entertainment he provided. They loved him. Because they saw him as a spectacle. Not a person. To them, his dead wife and child weren't real. They didn't know them so it was easy for them to dismiss his family. To scoff at his inability to let go.

But one day, when he had dropped his wedding ring after taking it off to go through a metal detector and was frantically searching for it—he couldn't lost _that_ too—he realized that maybe he was wrong.

Lisbon's small hand held the gold band firmly as she placed it in his hand and closed his fingers over it. He looked up to her face, stricken. She smiled softly.

"Wouldn't want to lose that."

He watched as she preceded him into the building, wondering for the first time if he would lose anything if he took the ring off. His family was in his heart. Nothing would change that.

So maybe the ring was a crutch.

Well, he thought, smirking, so the ubiquitous 'they' would say.


End file.
